The Record Newspapers - Hometown News For Orange County, Texas

The New Year

I will make my predictions, have the document notarized, seal it in an envelope and open it in April to see if I’m still in touch with the voting public. It should be a good turnout.

is starting with a cold front but after Jan. 3, when local deadlines have passed for candidates to file for office, things will get politically hot.

In the past years, I have made predictions but this always brings a negative response from some of the candidates even though the readers like it. I think I have most of the races figured out but some will take a runoff to settle in April.

I believe we can all safely predict runoffs in the sheriff’s race, with Keith Merritt now in the race with White and Fontenot.

Also, the constable’s race in Pct.

2 is sure to be a runoff with four in the race.

Three candidates in Pct.

3 are likely to cause a runoff.

In Pct.

1, it’s too early to tell, I’m not sure how many will end up in the race to replace Merritt.

I don’t see any changes occurring in the other races but it’s early. I believe the Demo presidential candidate will be decided by our March 4 primary.

It might be still undecided by the Repubs.

I’d bet right now that Obama and Huckabee will not be the nominees

As for

.

It’s a dangerous world that they don’t have the proper experience to deal with plus, the new president will have one heck of a mess to clean up domestically.

We must also reverse the movement to drive the middle class down.Pakistan, we predicted before going to Iraq, that the United States should finish the job in Afghanistan, kill bin Laden then turn their attention to Pakistan.

It has nuclear capabilities and is a far more dangerous threat than Iraq was.

I still believe that.

I have never trusted President Pervis Musharraf to fight terrorism.

We have given him $10 billion over six years and who knows what happened to the money.

It wasn’t used to find bin Laden or fight Al Qaeda.

That country could explode at anytime.

The assassination of Benazir Bhutto was predictable the day she arrived and 140 of her followers were killed.*****Goodbye to 2007, a trying year.

There wasn’t much to cheer about on the national scene.

The year 2008 will possibly end the decade old GOP hammerlock on the Electoral College.

I believe much of the electorate has grown leery of the Karl Rove, GOP’s fervent identification with the Religious Right.

Democrats are poised to become the country’s majority party.

The change is needed to purge the country and try to right a lot of wrong that has forced citizens into an economy that has benefited the rich at the expense of the middle and poor class.

The New Year has a lot of promise for our future.

Locally, we are on the verge of a big boom.

Our turn has finally come.

We welcome it and deserve it.

*****I’d best get going.

Please hop on board and come along; I promise the ride won’t do you no harm.

TURNING BACK THE HANDS OF TIME

30 Years Ago-1978

Gov. Dolph Briscoe

is being challenged by Attorney General John Hill.

Former Gov. Preston Smith, also in the race, will probably force a runoff between Hill and Briscoe.

*****Joe Christie, the boy from Rising Star and candidate for U.S. senator, will visit Orange County on Jan. 9.

*****CPA John Dubose, of Bridge City, has been named Business Manager-Controller of Finances for the Port Arthur News and Orange Leader.

*****Jo Ann Singletary has been picked by Judge Don Burgess as the clerk of the new 260th.

Dist.

Court. *****The lovable big guy Dewey ‘Teddy Bear’ Cox has been spending a lot of time around the hospital since his kids were involved in a car accident Christmas Eve in East Texas.

The youngsters are coming along fine.

(Editor’s note: Dewey, who was Mr. Boiler Maker, was later killed in an Arkansas plane crash which also took the life of attorney Marlin Thompson, his wife and others.) *****Pinehurst now has it’s own pharmacy.

Mr. and Mrs. Ken Johnson are the new owners.

***** Ethel Campbell received a letter from the White House after she wrote the song ‘One Giant Step’ (From A Peanut Farm.) President and Mrs. Carter thanked her for her kind gesture and sent their warmest.*****Joy Ham announced she will be a candidate for the office of district clerk that she was appointed to after the death of Edna Enmon in May 1977.

(Editor’s note: She’s County Attorney Bearden’s aunt, his mother Jewel’s sister.) *****Bob Krueger will be facing Christie, who came into the race late, for U.S. Senator.

Krueger has all the money he needs.

The winner will face Sen.

John Tower.

Unseating him is a tough job.

A FEW HAPPENINGS

Joe and Susan Kazmar

are moving into their new garden home, constructed by Rodney Townsend.

Susan is retiring in May after many years of teaching.

The Kazmar’s, along with Joe’s brother and his wife have already booked a three week vacation in Poland where the Kazmar boys will research their ancestry.

The family name will come to an end after this generation.

Their dad, an only son, had two sons who just have girls.*****Longtime radio man BBRC Richard ‘Dick’ Corder celebrates another birthday on Jan. 4.

A year or so ago, the ‘Old Fisherman’ and morning radio jock was forced into retirement after suffering a stroke.

Happy birthday and a great year for you and ‘Bear’ in the new year.

He and Dunn probably know more about Orange characters, over the last 55 years, than anyone.

They should co-author a book.*****Other good folks we know celebrating birthdays are Tom Perry, retired Navy man, former school board member and city councilman, will celebrate his day on Jan. 2.

Tom is a great guy to ride the range with.

He and lifetime wife Jane are spending his day at their family farm.*****Pat Monoque celebrates his day Jan. 2.

He and the lovely Wanda will mark their wedding anniversary on Jan. 4.

Best wishes.*****June Gunstream also marks down another birthday Jan. 2 and Barbara Dardeaux celebrates her day Jan. 3.*****Two great people celebrate on Jan. 5.

Vivian Holbrooks, a true angel who’s put up with Fain for over 50 years and is bound for heaven and one of the great guys, Kenneth Young, marks another year in a long number of years. Kenneth, my favorite Republican, has had some bad political years but I’ll bet he won’t quit.

Like the rest of the nation, he just wants this administration over.

He and lovely wife Joyce are super folks who, over the years, have contributed much to the improvement of our community.*****Our buddy and everyone’s friend, Skipper Free, celebrates her big day on Jan. 6.

We wish all good things for one of the true Orange characters.

It’s never dull when Skipper is around.*****Jan. 8 would have been Elvis Presley’s birthday.

He died August 16, 1977.

His stage gyrations in his Rock N’ Roll years turned teenage girls into screaming hysterics.

He appeared at Woodrow Wilson Auditorium in Port Arthur while launching his career.

Gordon Baxter refused to play his music on the radio.*****Beverly Perry and friends, Judy Cox of Bridge City and Sylvia Smith of Groves, visited New York City last month. Bev reports they had a great time in the ‘Big Apple.’ Lou Raburn was scheduled to go but ended up in the hospital with pneumonia.

We understand she’s on the rebound.***** Ron Moreau does it again. Ron, almost 71 but going on 17, was stopped and ticketed while doing a burn out in his 500 hp ’66 Corvette.

He was trying to impress one of his old classmates by taking him for a nostalgic ride when they were spotted by two Highway Patrolmen on the corner of Hwy.

1442 and Hwy.

105.

After turning around and heading back towards the officers they were stopped.

Ron asked, "Does it take two patrol cars and four patrol officers to give one ticket." The reply from the officers went like this, "We didn’t know if we were going to be able to catch you." After graciously being ticketed, Ron says the only regret he has was that his fine this time was going to be a little higher than the one he got when he was 17.

In the end, some people never grow up, so if Ron is fortunate to live to be 80, he says he just might try it again.

*****Some days it just doesn’t pay to get up. U.T. Coach Mack Brown’s step-son, Chris Jessie, was falsely charged with touching a football on the sideline that led to a Sun Devil touchdown.

The Longhorns ended up winning the Holiday Bowl 52-34.

Young Chris was able to go home but not until his embarrassing 15 minutes of fame was replayed many times.

*****Everyone I’ve talked with that saw the movie ‘Charlie Wilson’s War’ spoke highly of it.

A sidebar you may not know is that Mike Nichols, who directed the movie, is married to Diane Sawyer who once had a fling with Charlie when she worked for President Nixon.

She said she got away from him because he was just too wild for her.

She and Mike have been married many years.*****Thanks to Sen.

John Kerry leading the way, the NFL Network allowed us to see the New England-N.Y. Giant game on regular television.

The Patroits won 38 to 35 making history with 16 season wins and no losses.

At the start of the season, Creaux and I said they might be the best NFL team ever.

That still goes.*****Ringing in the New Year are 303 million people.

The census bureau reports 303,146.284, up 2,842,103 people or 0.9 percent, over New Year’s Day 2007.

In the New Year, the USA will register one birth every eight seconds and one death every 11 seconds.

Migration will bring one person every 30 seconds, resulting is an increase in the population of one person every 13 seconds.

At that rate, we can’t build roads and prisons fast enough.*****David Letterman returns Wednesday, Jan. 2 and that’s alright by me.

The deal, which is business as usual, gives him an enormous advantage over his competition.

Jay Leno has announced he will resume his show Wednesday also but without benefit of his writers.

Letterman’s deal will allow a full staff of writers.*****Splitting the blanket.

Sean Penn and Robin Wright Penn have announced they are divorcing.*****Hollywood producer Jon Peters will have a busy 2008 battling sexual lawsuits from three different women.*****Nicole Kidman and husband Keith Urbin are expecting their first child.

Nicole is the mother of two adopted children Isabella, 14 and Conor, 12, who were adopted during her 11 year marriage to Tom Cruise.

This will be her first natural born child.*****One of my favorite actors of all times Robert Duval turns 77-years old, Jan. 5.*****President Bush used a pocket veto to kill the defense bill that includes hikes in military pay and veterans benefits.

What he rejected in the bill was a tighter oversight of contractors and weapons dealers.

He also disliked a provision that would expose Iraq to lawsuits and U.S. government seeking damages.

A pocket veto can be used only when Congress is not in session.*****One of our friends of many years Ray Herman, has been one of the hardest working men we have known, a guy who always minded his own business.

Ray for over 50 years operated his service station, and is now in Jones Nursing Home.

We wish him a happy life in his new surroundings.*****If you read this in time, you are invited to join the Wednesday Lunch Bunch, Jan. 2, at Van Choate’s Tuffy’s.

It’s a ‘Kickoff the New Year’ get together.

Good food, good fellowship and great people.

BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK

Joanne Hill, Robert Hoke, Ronnie Hearn, Angela Abshire, Cody Johnson, Courtney Anderson, David Villanoueva, Jason Sieck, June Gunstream, Kathy Mercer, O'Neal Waldrop, Barbara Dardeau, Betty Johnston Devin Force, Lillian Wray, Mary Williams, Nancy Lapeyrolerie, Catherine Young, Deborah Schlicher, Malinda Vail, Patsy Dowder, Clint Reves, Louise Dubose, Marvin Ziller, Skipper Free, Betty Jagen, Carl Floyd, Jo Green, Libby Campbell, Michael Collins, Ted Arnold, Teresa Collins, Joey Halliburton, Nadine Whitsett, Philipp Hunt, Sandra Cole, Sean Brinson,

CAJUN STORY OF THE WEEK

Otis Badeaux

was placing some flowers on da grave of his dearly departed mama when he spotted Clovis Comeaux. Clovis was kneeling at another grave across the cemetery. Clovis seemed to be praying with profound intensity him. He kept repeating, "Why did you die you?" "Why did you die, hanh?" "Why are you dead?"

Badeaux

knew Comeaux was having some family problems but he couldn’t understand wat had Comeaux so upset. He approached him and said, "Clovis, I don’t want to disturb you grief but man, I ain’t never seen you in pain like dat before." "Who is you mourning for like dat, you mama, you papa, a child?"

Comeaux

took a moment to collect himself den replied, "My wife Thelma’s first husband him."

C’EST TOUT

Well,

Creaux and I have come to the end of our first column for the year 2008.

We look forward to visiting you every week, like we have for 15 years without missing a week, right here from the Creaux’s Nest.

We have much to be thankful for.

At a time when subscriptions around the country are declining for daily newspapers at a rapid rate, longtime established community publications are seeing an increase in readership.

Our Record Newspapers, The Penny Record and The County Record, continue to grow in popularity.

Our readership exceeds that of all daily papers in our trade area combined.

We offer an advertising vehicle to customers unmatched in our market.

Our reach is not met by any other media; radio, television or newsprint.

Our readership and loyalty gives us a distinct advantage in reaching the buying public.*****We have some great changes in store for the coming year.

Our new website will bring creative changes.

We invite you to be a part of our publications and website and we ask you to submit information for us to publish.*****Also, among your resolutions please include supporting the sponsors who bring us to you every week throughout the year.

We thank you for your loyal readership and wish you and yours the best year ever.

We sincerely appreciate you making us Orange County’s most read publications.

Take care and God bless you.